Electric igniter for gas-engines.



No. 757,064. PATENTED APR. 12, 1904. H. J. SMITH.

ELECTRIC IGNITBR FOR GAS ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3, 1901.

no MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Np. 757,064. PATENTED APR. 12, 1904.

V H. J. SMITH.

ELECTRIC IGNITER FOR GAS ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3, 1901.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

Y mmw f p 77Eraesses To all whom it may concern.-

NITED Patented April 12, 1904.

ATET rr cn.

HARRY J. SMITH, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE ALBERGER COMPANY,OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

I ELECTRIC IGNITER FOR GAS-ENGINES- SPECIFICATION forming part ofLetters Patent NO. 757,064, dated April 12, 1904..

Application filed g s 3, 1901.

Be it known that I, HARRY J. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Electric Igniters forGas-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is the production of an electric igniterfor gas and similar engines which is comparatively simple and durable inconstruction and reliable in operation, which can be readily adjustedwhile the engine is running for varying the time of producing the spark,and in which the rock-shaft supporting the movable contact is relievedfrom undue wear.

In the accompanying drawings, consisting of two sheets, Figure 1 is afragmentary top plan view, partly in section, of a gas-engine providedwith my improved igniter. Fig. 2 is a detached cross-section of theigniter, on an enlarged scale, in line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is ahorizontal section in line 33, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary verticalsection in line 4L4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an inside view of the plug whichcarries the contacts. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the latch andcoupling forming part of the mechanism whereby the movable contact isoperated.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several views.

A represents the frame or base of the engine; B, the main or crankshaft, journaled transversely on the front end of the base; O, thecylinder, mounted on the rear end of the base; D, the piston, arrangedin the cylinder; E, the pitman,connecting the piston with the crank ofthe main shaft, and F the valve-chest, which communicates with thefiring end of the cylinder.

G represents an intermediate shaft, whereby the valves and igniter aredriven from the main shaft and which is journaled lengthwise on one sideof the base and geared at its front end with the main shaft in anysuitable manner.

'5 c", Fig. 5, represent the two contacts which form the terminals of anelectric generator or battery I and which may be located in any suit-Serial No. 70,749. (No model.)

able space which is in communication with the firing end of thecylinder, but, as shown in the drawings, are preferably arranged in thevalvechest. These contacts are mounted on a plug J, which is removablysecured in an opening in the front side of the valve-chest to permit ofremoving the contacts for inspection, cleaning, and repairing. Thestationary or fixed contact c' is arranged on a bolt K, which extendsthrough an opening in the plug J and which is secured to said plug, butinsulated therefrom, by engaging its head and nut 70' k with insulatingsleeves on the inner and outer ends of the plug. The nut 70 is pro-Vided with a suitable binding-post 7:1 for receiving the wire leading toone pole of the electric generator I. The other pole of the electricgenerator is connected with any suitable metallic part of the enginewhich is in electrical communication with the movable contact 7 Themovable contact a" is arranged on a rock-arm Z, which is secured to theinner end of a rock-shaft L. This shaft is journaled in a stationarysleeve or bushing Z, extending through the contact-plug J, parallel withthe fastening-bolt K. The movement of the contact-arm Z away from thestationary contact is limited by a stop Z on the plug J, as shown inFigs. 3 and 5.

M represents a latch whereby the movable contact is operated and whichis journaled, with its hub m, on the outer end of the bushing Z. Bymounting the latch on the bushing Z the latch is prevented from wearingor straining the contact-shaft, which otherwise would interfere with themovement of the movable contact relative to the stationary contact. Bysupporting the latch on a bushing which is separate from the plug thebushing can be made of hardened steel or similar material, while theplug is made of cast-iron, thereby producing a very durable constructionat small cost. The hub m is provided on its outer side or face with twodiametrically opposite shoulders or lugs m m, the spaces or recessesbetween which receive two diametrically opposite shoulders or lugs7177,, arranged on the inner end of a coupling-sleeve N. The latter isrigidly securedto the outer end of the rock-shaft L. The spaces betweenthe lugs m of the latch-hub are wider circumferentially than thecircumferential width of the lugs n, whereby a slack connection isproduced between the latch and the contact rock-shaft, which permitsthese parts-to move independently of each other to a limited extent. Thelatch is yieldingly held in its rearmost or retracted position withreference to the contact-shaft by a spring 0, which surrounds the sleeveN and is connected at one end to said sleeve and contact-shaft and atits opposite end to the hub of the latch. This spring. normally holdsthe back side of the lugs m in engagement with the front side of thelugs n.

0 represents a spring which is secured at its ends to the plug J and toan ear 0 on the latch and Which serves to rotate the latch backwardly,and the latter in turn rotates the rock-shaft backwardly until therock-arm Z strikes the stop Z thereby separating the contacts to thefullest extent.

P represents a trip-lever whereby the latch is operated for producing aspark between the contacts. This lever is pivoted on an eccentric orwrist 19, which is arranged parallel with the contact rock-shaft, andone of its arms is adapted to be coupled with the latch, while itsopposite arm is connected with an actuating mechanism, whereby the leveris rocked. The actuating mechanism for this purpose (shown in thedrawings) consists of an eccentric Q, mounted on the intermediate shaftG, and a strap q, surrounding the eccentric and connected by a rod qwith the trip-lever. During the forward movement of the trip-lever thesame is coupled with the latch, so that the latter is compelled to movewith the trip-lever; but during the return movement of the trip-leverthe same is free to move backward independently of the latch. This ispreferably effected by a trip-pawl or dog R, which is pivoted on theinner or operative end of the trip-lever and which is free to recede orswing forward with reference to the lever; but its backward movementthereon is limited by a tail or stop 9, formed on the back of the dogand engaging with a shoulder formed on the adjacent part of thetrip-lever. The dog is normally held in its operative or projectingposition, so that its tail engages the trip-lever by a spring 1",connected at one end with the dog and at its other end with the pivot ofthe dog, which is fixed on the trip-lever. A cushion r", of felt orsimilar soft material, is preferably interposed between the tail of thedog and the trip-lever in order to avoid clicking noise when these partscome together.

During the first part of the forward movement of the trip-lever the samemoves idly until the dog engages the latch, as shown in Fig. 2. As thetrip-lever continues its forward movement its dog turns the latchforward until the parts reach the position shown in Fig. 4. While thelatch is effecting the initial portion of its forward movement with thedog the spring 0 is strained and the contact-shaft is caused to move inthe same direction with the latch, owing to the tension of the spring 0,connecting these parts, whereby the movable contact is carried againstthe stationary contact and the electric circuit is closed. After thecontacts have been thus engaged and the forward movement of the movablecontact has been arrested the latch continues to move forwardindependently of the contact-shaft, whereby the lugs m of the latch aremoved, with their rear sides, out of engagement with the front sides ofthe lugs n on the contact-shaft, as shown in Fig. 4c, and the spring 0is further strained, thereby increasing the pressure of the movablecontact against the stationary contact and insuring a perfect closing ofthe electric circuit. This movement of the latch independent of thecontact-shaft takes place before the parts reach the position shown inFig. 4:. Upon continuing the forward movement of the trip-lever when theparts reach the position shown in Fig. 4.

. the dog of the trip-lever clears the latch and completes its forwardmovement independent of the latch. The instant the latch is releasedfrom the dog the recoil of the springs O 0 moves the latch quicklybackward, causing the lugs m of the latter to deliver a sharp backwardblow against the lugs n of the contact-shaft, whereby the movablecontact is separated quickly from the stationary contact and a longspark is produced, which effectually ignites the charge of gas in thecylinder. If desired, the spring 0 may be omitted, in which case thebackward movement of the latch and contact-shaft is efiected solely bythe recoil of the spring 0; but it is preferable to employ the spring 0in order to reliably hold the movable contact when free out ofengagement from the stationary contact.

During the subsequent backward movement of the trip-lever the dog isdeflected upon engaging the latch and is then again projected into itsoperative position by the spring r, so as to overhang the latchpreparatory to engaging the operative face of the same during ghe nextfollowing forward movement of the For the purpose of enabling the timeof producing the spark to be varied the pivot of the trip-lever is madeadjustable relatively to the latch. The adjusting device for thispurpose shown in the drawings is constructed as follows: S S representtwo trunnions arranged eccentrically at opposite ends of the wrist p, onwhich the trip-lever is fulcrumed. These trunnions are arranged axiallyin line and journaled in bearings t, formed in the inner and outer partsof a bifurcated bracket T, which is secured to the front side of thevalvechest. U represents a shifting arm or handle which is secured tothe outer trunnion S of the wrist and whereby the fulcrum of thetrip-lever is adjusted relatively to the latch.

To permit of adjusting the fulcrum of the trip-lever to a predeterminedposition, the handle is provided with a pointer 01, which traverses asegmental scale 2; on the front side of the bracket. The handle and theparts connected therewith are held in their adjusted position by aclamping-bolt w, arranged on the bracket and passing through a segmentalslot w in the handle.

In the position of the parts shown in Fig. 4 the axes of the latch, thetrip-lever, and the trunnions are in line, in which position ofthe partsit will be assumed the dog clears the latch at the proper time forproducing a spark when the piston reaches the end of itscompression-stroke.

Upon turning the handle in the direction for raising the wrist, thetrip-lever will effect the greater part of its forward movement beforetripping the latch, thereby producing a spark late or after the pistonhas passed the point of greatest compression of the fuel, therebyreducing the force of the explosion and enabling the engine to bestarted slowly or run under reduced pressure when the load is light.

When it is desired to run the engine under high pressure for heavyloads, the handle is turned in the opposite direction, so as to lowerthe wrist, which causes the trip-lever to engage the latch earlier inits forward movement and produce a spark while the piston is leading orapproaching the point of highest compression, thereby obtaining themaximum output of the engine. This adjustment ofthe time of sparking canbe effected while the engine is running, thus rendering it possible toregulate the working of the engine readily and conveniently whenstarting or when running under varying loads.

I claim as my invention- An electric igniter for gas-engines comprisingstationary and movable contacts, a latch yieldingly connected with themovable contact, a rocking trip-lever, a pawl arranged on one end of thelever and adapted to engage with said latch, an actuating mechanismconnected with the opposite end of said lever for oscillating the same,an eccentric upon which said lever is journaled and which is provided atopposite ends with trunnions, a-bifurcated supporting-bracket providedwith bearings on its members in which said trunnions are journaled, anadjusting-handle connected with one of said trunnions and provided witha segmental slot, and a clamping-bolt arranged in said slot,substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 30th day of July, 1901.

HARRY J. SMITH. Vitnesses:

THEo. L. PoPr, EMMA M. GRAHAM.

